ZEN cartridge ?

Nandric...we have determined this is NOT a ZENN, but a Sato Musen "ZEN" model. So, the specs I posted, (which came directly from the website I linked above) are correct as far as we know anyway.

More or less accidentally I stumbled on this old thread about 'zen' cartridges and the resulting confusion as there are in fact two kinds: the Zenn brand designed by Hiroaki Hibino and identical to the Klipsch MCZ series (Z presumably for Zen?) and the Zen model released by Sato Musen. The name of the designer of this cartridge is unknown to me, but the construction has more than a passing resemblance to the direct couple design as seen in the Victor MC- L1000.

The Sato Musen is incredibly rare and hard to find, but even the Diamond (cantilever) version is less costly than the Victor, which has become something of a cult item. This started a few years ago, when Audio Technica released their 'revolutionary' AT-ART1000 Direct Power MC cartridge at $5k+, which is clearly based on Victor's Direct Couple design.
The Zenn (or Klipsch) comes around slightly more often - except the diamond cantilever version, which I've never seen - and are usually offered at very reasonable prices.

Both these 'zen(n)' cartridges dating from the 1980's (!) are absolutely wonderful performers, so anyone interested in 'vintage' MC cartridges should keep an eye out for these two. Both can be found on the right side of $1000 and they easily compete with most cartridges on the market today.

This is my Sato Musen Zen Diamond which I have owned for many years, is very very rare and I use it sparingly; this is an excellent cartridge, it has the diamond cantilever (like Sony XL 88D)
At the time it sounded much better than the Koetsu Onix.


https://i.postimg.cc/VsFwVwP9/AA.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/43tkbk19/H.jpg.

@best-groove, I agree with you that the Sato Musen Zen Diamond is an absolutely wonderful cartridge. To my ears sonically competitive with current top mc cartridges.

For the record it needs to be said that the diamond cantilever is NOT like the Sony XL-88D. This cartridge utilized a one piece diamond cantilever/stylus assembly, which to my knowledge is unique and exclusive to Sony.

The diamond cantilever of the Sato Musen looks very similar to the one used on Dynavector’s Karat Nova 13D. The way the stylus is attached to the cantilever seems to indicate they were both sourced from Namiki.

@edgewear yes you are right, I meant to indicate that it has the cantilever in diamonds to distinguish it from cantilever in aluminum or beryllium or other materials, The Sony 88D belongs to this category like the old Dyna 17D.
The stylus is embedded it is not a single stylus / cantilever body like the 88D